Meta has been ordered to cough up another $567 million after a New Mexico judge ruled its apps harmed children.
According to Financial Times a Santa Fe judge found the $1.5 trillion social media outfit to be a “public nuisance”, taking total penalties in the case to $942 million.
A jury had already ordered Meta to pay $375 million in March, after New Mexico’s attorney general sued the company in 2023.
The lawsuit accused Meta of exposing children to sexually explicit content, solicitation and human trafficking across its platforms.
The court had previously found that Meta breached New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act by building recommendation algorithms that pushed young users towards harmful content.
Meta said it disagreed with the latest ruling and would appeal, insisting the case misrepresented its record on teen safety.
“We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts,” a company spokesperson said.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid said New Mexico’s youth mental health crisis had worsened, with rising depression, eating disorders and suicide rates among adolescents.
Biedscheid said Meta was not the only culprit, but its apps were a major factor because they were designed to maximise engagement.
The order directs about $420 million towards community and family treatment programmes, with more cash heading to prevention efforts.
Meta must beef up protections for teen users, police under-13 accounts and stop minors having romantic or sexualised interactions with its AI chatbots.
New Mexico attorney general Raúl Torrez called the ruling “a blueprint” for future action.
